getting a letter of recommendation from a teaching assistant

[missy81]

Hi, I'm a newbie. Do you guys know if it is okay to ask a teaching assistant to write a letter of recommendation for your graduate school applications? I went to Ohio State and all of my classes were huge. I'm not sure whether any of my professors will even remember who I am. Our lecture courses were divided into sections which were taught by graduate students. Do the graduate schools mind if the letter comes from a graduate student rather than the professor? Or what do you do in this case? I'm planning to apply to Ohio State for psychology. I will also apply to U.C. Berkeley, Michigan, and others.

thank you in advance for your advice.

[boblet]

I think it is fine but you wouldn't want to get them all written by graduate students.

[bharlin]

Missy81,

One method some graduate school applicants have used successfully is to ask the graduate student to write a letter of recommendation to the professor. The professor can then write you a letter of recommendation, even though s/he may not remember you well, based on the graduate student's assessment.

You might try asking the professor in any case, however. Professors are accustomed to receiving recommendation requests from students they hardly know or remember. The worst they can do is say no and you'll be no worse off than you were before you asked. You might offer to contact the graduate student for an assessment or send the professor a paper you wrote for the course. Offering some help will likely get you points.

Good luck!

[plow3190]

I think it is fine but you wouldn't want to get them all written by graduate students.

I know a guy that can help you with that, I will see if I can get him to post here.

[mani]

hey i'm plow's friend. No don't get all of your letters of recommendation from teaching assistants. You will want the majority of them to be written by professors. In fact it would be best if you had mostly tenured professors write them for you and all the better if they are particularly prestigious professors.

[zowie]

Professors who haven't known you for long or haven't seen you for even longer (i.e. you've been out of school) will often request that you consult with your TA from the course and that the TA draft the letter. This isn't a bad thing. Don't take this personally. The professor wants to help you out but simply doesn't remember you!